Course Catalogue

Provided by: WU // NHH // Engage University

Polish your paper for publication in a leading journal and earn 6 ECTS in this one-week blocked course brought to you by NHH and WU.

Many journals publish guidelines on how to prepare a suitable manuscript, however, the rules that shape the game of writing, revising, and resubmitting manuscripts are mainly implicit. In this course, we try to make these rules explicit or at least experienceable and to enable you to publish your work successfully. The course addresses PhD candidates who have written a draft paper in a management-related area (strategy, organization, entrepreneurship, marketing, innovation management, international business, human resources management, etc.). The focus of this course will be on deductive quantitative research, meaning that researchers ground their hypotheses on theory and test these hypotheses empirically.

Feedback from Participants of Last Year's Course

Video statements:https://player.vimeo.com/video/1066874683

"The workshop has been really helpful in improving my work and to receive valuable feedback from peers across discipline. The reviews I received really help widen my understanding of my own paper, and how to communicate it effectively to non-expert audience as weil. The intensive 4-day work is a good experience in my opinion. lt was challenging to stay focused, to read and write review for multiple papers, but I personally find the experience rewarding."

"The course will help me re-draft my paper through your structured approach of covering each section in great details. 1 learned what elements each section MUST include and what elements should NOT be included. 1 found that providing criticism of another classmate's work helped solidy our learnings of the above. lt helped us illuminate the shortcomings of our own paper. Covering each section in detail, day by day, was very helpful."

Requirements and Application

To apply for the course, it is necessary to submit a paper draft that comprises all main parts of a journal article, namely: introduction, theory and hypotheses, methods and (preliminary) results, discussion. In addition, each participant shares an extended (two-page) abstract of their paper that will be circulated among all participants.

1. Submit application materials: Send a 1-page motivation letter outlining your research topic, the progress of your project, and your written draft paper to [email protected] in the period from Jan 12^th to 22^nd, 2026. 

2. Pre-registration: After submitting your materials, click the "How to Apply" link at the bottom of this webpage to enter your personal details.

3. Admission: Applicants will be informed by Jan 26^th about their admission to the course.

4. Formal registration and enrolment: Accepted applicants will be informed about the online enrolment at WU and must complete this process by Feb 9^th.

Course Design

Increasing collaboration across PhD programs and creating new and innovative offers PhD candidates an opportunity to advance their research skills while benefitting from international networking opportunities are central elements of our three designated lighthouse initiatives in the ENGAGE.EU alliance. This new PhD course seeks to take a novel approach in this direction. The course is jointly developed and delivered by WU Vienna and NHH and uses a format to ensure that - for the first time - all ten ENGAGE.EU partner universities can send PhD candidates (at least one per partner university) to a week-long training on how to make an impact by disseminating their first research projects in premier outlets.

The course takes place in a blocked, in-person format at the premises of WU Vienna in the first week of March. In the morning of each day, participants act as reviewers who comment on submitted papers and as authors who revise their drafts accordingly. In the afternoon, we will meet in the classroom to discuss remaining issues and provide guidance for further developing the papers.

Monday: getting started Course instructors give an introduction on writing manuscripts for submission to academic journals and maneuvering through the review processes, assign tasks for the remainder of the course to participants, and give a preview on how to write an attractive introduction section of a paper.

Tuesday: writing an attractive introduction Participants have shared a draft of their paper via Canvas. In their role as reviewers, they use track changes and the commenting function to provide constructive feedback on another participant's introduction section. In their role as authors, they implement these suggestions in their drafts. After lunch, up to three participants as authors pitch their introduction to the audience, reviewers present their respective comments, and authors respond by explaining the implementation of these comments. We discuss the suggestions and their implementation in class. In preparation for the next day, course instructors give a preview on how to write a compelling theory and hypotheses section.

Wednesday: writing a compelling theory and hypotheses section Participants have shared a draft of their paper via Canvas. In their role as reviewers, they use track changes to provide constructive feedback on another participant's theory and hypotheses section. In their role as authors, they implement these suggestions in their drafts. After lunch, up to three participants as authors pitch their theory and hypotheses section to the audience, reviewers present their respective comments, and authors respond by explaining the implementation of these comments. We discuss the suggestions and their implementation in class. In preparation for the next day, course instructors give a preview on how to write a clear methods and results part.

Thursday: writing a clear methods and results part Participants have shared a draft of their paper via Canvas. In their role as reviewers, they use track changes to provide constructive feedback on another participant's methods and results section. In their role as authors, they implement these suggestions in their drafts. After lunch, up to three participants as authors pitch their methods and results section to the audience, reviewers present their respective comments, and authors respond by explaining the implementation of these comments. We discuss the suggestions and their implementation in class. In preparation for the next day, course instructors give a preview on how to write an impressive discussion of the implications.

Friday: writing an impressive discussion of the implications Participants have shared a draft of their paper via Canvas. In their role as reviewers, they use track changes to provide constructive feedback on another participant's discussion section. In their role as authors, they implement these suggestions in their drafts. After lunch, up to three participants as authors pitch their discussion section to the audience, reviewers present their respective comments, and authors respond by explaining the implementation of these comments. We discuss the suggestions and their implementation in the group. Course instructors sum up the key learnings of the course and invite all participants for a closing dinner.